There’s no denying that director Oliver Stone was one of the top Hollywood provocateurs of the 80’s and 90’s. Films like Wall Street and JFK were guaranteed to get audiences talking as soon as they hit theaters. Hell, I still say that Natural Born Killers is one of the best movies of the 90’s, even if Quentin Tarantino claims Stone mangled his screenplay. The last decade hasn’t been terribly kind … Continue reading →

Tatsuya Fujiwara, the fresh-faced teen who fought his classmates to the death in Battle Royale and made a deal with some devils in Death Note, is all grown up. As someone who was indoctrinated into Asian cinema partially based on the strength of 2000’s Battle Royale, that makes me feel kinda old. But at least Fujiwara’s next film looks promising. I’m Flash! arrives from director Toshiaki Toyoda (Blue Spring) and … Continue reading →

Chinese Films has the scoop on a new Hong Kong action picture with an impressive pedigree, called Motorway. The project has culled together talent from the Hong Kong, Mainland, and Taiwan film industries. In the film, produced by the legendary Johnnie To, Anthony Wong (Hard Boiled) and Shawn Yue (Infernal Affairs II) play two traffic cops who go after speeding bad guys in their disguised police car. Director Pou-Soi Cheang … Continue reading →

June has come and gone. But we’re still standing! And there’s plenty of Asian cinema to explore this week. So without any more stalling, here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 6/26/12: ASIAN CINEMA The Samurai Trilogy (Blu-ray/DVD) – the Criterion Collection presents three classic 1950’s samurai films from director Hiroshi Inagaki and starring the indomitable Toshiro Mifune Sector 7 (Blu-ray/DVD) – this big-budget 2011 Korean creature feature … Continue reading →

Chinese director Chen Kaige is perhaps best known for his award-winning 1993 drama Farewell My Concubine, starring Gong Li and the late Leslie Cheung. However, Kaige made a detour into full-blown fantasy territory with 2005’s The Promise, a pastel-colored wuxia that left some viewers scratching their heads even as they appreciated Kaige’s impressive visuals. Now it looks like Chen Kaige is striking a balance between these two disparate modes of … Continue reading →

The filmmakers behind the new Taiwanese action film Black and White held a press conference yesterday to announce that the film will be released in Mainland China this summer. A 110-second preview of the movie was screened and included car chases, explosions, shoot-outs, and a plane crash. Directed by Tsai Yueh-Hsun, Black and White stars Mark Chao and Huang Bo (Design of Death). At the conference, director Tsai Yueh-Hsun revealed that the … Continue reading →

As long as people in Asian horror movies have dark secrets and repressed memories, there will always be a long-haired ghost waiting in the wings to hunt them down. At least that seems to be the case, and the upcoming Korean film Two Moons doesn’t look like it will mess with the formula too much, judging by the trailer and three posters now available. Direcotr Kim Dong-Bin helmed the 2004 … Continue reading →

Over at 24 Frames Per Second, they’ve got the scoop on a new Japanese horror movie called Another. The film is based off an anime which was in turn inspired by a bestselling novel by author Yukito Ayatsuji. The story follows a 15 year-old protagonist who transfers to a new school and is assigned to Class 3-3. It doesn’t take long for him to realize that Class 3-3 is haunted … Continue reading →

It’s a dire week for Asian cinema lovers. We’ll keep on trucking, cause that’s the Chicago way, and maybe you’ll find something to enjoy. Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 6/19/12: ASIAN CINEMA The Hidden Blade (Blu-ray+DVD) – Palisades Tartan brings Yoji Yamada’s meditative 2004 samurai drama to Blu-ray Ninja Champion/Weapons Of Death (DVD) – the 36 Chambers of Wu Tang presents 172 minutes of ninja action. Be … Continue reading →

AICN hits us with some truly cool news today, as reports indicate Joe Cornish of Attack the Block fame has been given the greenlight from Paramount to write and direct an adaptation of the acclaimed cyber-punk novel Snow Crash. If you’ve ever been bitten by the cyber-punk bug in your life, chances are you’ve read Neal Stephenson’s 1992 tale of a not-so-distant future in which a sword-slinging pizza delivery guy … Continue reading →

Deadline has the scoop on an in-development period action piece called The Great Wall. The film will star Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) as two British adventurers who happen upon the Great Wall of China as it’s being built during the 1400’s. They soon realize the hasty construction of the Wall is not just to keep the invading Mongols out, but to seal … Continue reading →

6/12/12, that’s gotta mean something, right? Actually, probably not. But at least we have a decent selection of Asian films to choose from this week. So let’s get cracking. Here are your Blu-ray and DVD new releases for the week of 6/12/12: ASIAN CINEMA Accident (Blu-ray/DVD) – Louis Koo stars in this 2009 Hong Kong thriller produced by Johnnie To Devilman (DVD) – the 2004 live-action “Devilman” movie, based on … Continue reading →